Dynasty (Boys of Winter 1)

“It wasn’t a sex party,” Grayson grunts, keeping his eyes anywhere but at me, reminding me of the awkward little chat we had in the cabin kitchen, which seems so far away right now.

I grab a vase off the closest table and launch it at his head. He ducks out of the way and I cringe as it shatters against the wall behind him, but I don’t fucking care. If these guys can dodge bullets like pros, then they can certainly handle a vase. “ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING RIGHT NOW?”

Carver sucks in a soft breath between his teeth, and as my ferocious glare snaps in his direction, I see a whole lot of nothing. “Spill,” I demand, annoyed that it’s already taken this long for them to let me in on the secret. The four of them sat quietly in the car the whole way home while I did nothing but freak out.

Carver drags a hand over his face, and for a split second, all I can seem to think about is the way his lips moved over mine before he completely shattered me by delivering one hell of a rejection. Like what the fuck is his problem anyway? He clearly wants me. Is he too scared? Does he worry about being compared to his friends? Fuck him. Maybe he’s just a jealous bastard.

The guys glance at one another, having a secret conversation before King finally lets out a breath. “What just happened back there,” he starts, meeting my furious stare, “was that the families who stood against your father, they just made a stand against you.”

“What?” I snap, looking around at the four of them. “What does that even mean?”

Carver meets my stare. “I told you that you were the rightful leader,” he says as though it should all make perfect sense, and only looks pissed that I’m not following along. “You’re an eighteen-year-old girl who’s about to rule over all seventeen families, and for the past eighteen years, they’ve run free, doing whatever the fuck they want. The fact that you’re barely even an adult, and a female at that ... it doesn’t sit well with them. That’s the reason they went after your parents in the first place.”

My back stiffens as Cruz lets out a grunt. “Excuse me?” I say, walking straight up to Carver and meeting his stare. “Are you trying to tell me that I’m the reason that my parents are dead?”

His face falls, and for just a second, I see regret shining in his eyes, but it’s gone a second later. “Honestly,” he says as Cruz continues to grunt and groan, not so discreetly trying to tell his friend to shut his fucking mouth. “Yeah. Since your grandfather founded Dynasty, it was always said that the leadership would be handed from father to son, but when your father’s first born popped out as a girl, things changed. They weren’t happy. At first, they were happy to wait until your father eventually had a son, but it quickly became clear that your parents weren’t interested in having more children.”

Carver sits back, clearly having said what he wanted to say, so I turn to Cruz. “Explain.”

He lets out a sigh. Usually, he loves the spotlight on him, but right now, he’s never looked so uncomfortable. “Sixteen families,” he starts, “equally divided with the seventeenth family, the ruling family, having the final unbiased say over everything. It worked for years … until things became hostile. The best way to think about it is good versus bad. Eight families are always rooting for you while eight will always stand against you.”

Cruz gives me a second, letting it all sink in before continuing. “As leader, your father was supposed to be the voice of reason between the sixteen families, until he wasn’t. He had good values and was called weak for not making harsh judgments that his father before him would have made. Then he had a baby girl and it became clear that she would inherit the leadership and mess with their traditions. So, those eight families who stood against him, who now stand against you, took matters into their own hands. Without a ruling family, the remaining sixteen could stand equally, but when there's good versus bad, and no one to keep them in line …” He lets out a breath. “It’s been a shitstorm for eighteen years.”

I nod, following along. “So, let me get this straight. Those eight families, the side who stood against my father, planned to have my family massacred just so they didn’t have someone telling them what they could and couldn’t do?”

King nods. “In a nutshell. Though, while Dynasty mourned your parents’ deaths, the evidence was destroyed, and it was made to look like a house fire that wiped out your family.”

“But they missed one,” Cruz says, raising his chin as though my very being is something to be proud of. “You’re the heir of Dynasty, and once you go through your initiation, you can make it right again. They will have no choice but to kneel down to you.”